I Didn't Ask if You Wanted to Live
by ChocolateChip-Master
Summary: With the Galra Empire in shambles, factions everywhere are fighting for control over the masses. It's up to the Paladins - and Lotor - to try and subdue the more violent would-be leaders. Things are going well, at least until Pidge gets stabbed. / Part 10 of my BTHB!


**For the 'bleeding through the bandages' square on my Bad Things Happen Bingo card. **

**Anon requested: Could you do bleeding through the bandages for lotige please? (If you don't do ships, or feel uncomfortable with it, then just pidge?)**

**I hope platonic Lotige works just as well!**

**Timeline Placement: After S5E4**

* * *

Pidge could hear breathing.

It was loud and sharp, labored like whoever it was couldn't get enough air into their lungs. Watery too, in a strange way that she couldn't really describe.

_Who was breathing so loud?_

Another deep inhale.

It was so loud. Like it rattled her skull.

_Who was breathing?_

Pidge tried to focus, but everything seemed hazy.

Another deep inhale. Right next to her. Or was it on top of her?

She couldn't tell.

_Who was…?_

"Pidge, can you hear me?"

Pidge tried to speak, but all that came out was a pained whimper.

Another inhale.

Was…

Was the breathing _her's?_

She didn't remember her own breathing being _this _loud. Why was it so _loud?_

Another deep, rattly inhale.

"Pidge is down! Paladins,_ come in!"_

A crackle of static from her helmet brought Pidge into the waking world. She blinked blood out of her eyes and found herself staring blankly up at a dull, purple ceiling. There was something burning dully in her gut, something she couldn't quite place.

She tried to move, a low keen pulling itself from her throat. She clawed at the ground, trying to find something to help lift her up. She had to see what the damage was, what had been done to her.

"Pidge!"

Despite everything being ungodly amounts of blurry, Pidge could still very clearly make out Lotor's face. His high eyebrows did look like they were on opposite sides of his face, and the yellows of his eyes had merged so he kind of looked like Sonic the Hedgehog, but it was definitely him.

"-tor…" She spoke, copper tickling the back of her throat. She tried to shift again, the burning sensation in her gut growing with every move. "Lo...tor…"

Lotor pushed her back down, sweat dripping down his face. He looked so worried. _Why was he worried?_

"Don't move," Lotor warned. "You'll make things worse if you do."

_Make things worse? _What was Lotor talking about?

Pidge craned her neck again, trying to see the full extent of the damage that had been done. The burning sensation was starting to slowly, but surely, turn into agony, and she wasn't sure she wanted to be in pain without really knowing why. So, against Lotor's wishes, she shifted again, carefully moving her elbow across the floor. The armor scraped across the metal, grating in an unpleasant way. Carefully positioning her arm underneath her, Pidge gathered all of her meager strength and pushed herself into a sitting position.

Pain hit her like a bus. Her vision went black for a few seconds. She sucked in a sharp breath through her teeth, hearing Lotor call her name from what felt like very far away. She blinked the darkness away, preparing herself for what she might see.

Any last-minute mental fortitude she could have scrounged up was kicked down as soon as she saw the wound. The hilt of a dagger was sticking out of her stomach. The blade (who knew how long it was) was buried to the hilt in her flesh. Blood stained her skin, rolling off of her Paladin uniform and dripping off of her.

She recoiled, suddenly dizzy. Her head dropped back down to the floor with a metallic clang.

"Oh _fuck," _she groaned. Now that the wound had been fully realized, it seemed to hurt even more, if it were possible. "That's a dagger," she said wisely.

Lotor looked down at her, sitting awkwardly at her side. He was holding a first-aid kit he must have brought for his personal use and was rummaging through it. He pulled out a roll of bandages, breathing panicked and heavy.

"I…" Lotor looked a bit squeamish as he looked at Pidge's abdomen. "I'll need to pull it out. It will no longer stem the flow, but I do not know if it's pierced anything essential. It's best if we just remove it." He breathed out a shaky breath, his hands trembling.

How badly had Pidge scared him?

"Fucking do it, then," Pidge bit back a cry of pain at another wave of agony. "_ Fuck, _that hurts!" Lotor mumbled something under his breath (probably an apology) and moved his hand towards the hilt of the dagger. He grasped it - carefully - and Pidge gasped loudly. The slightest move of the blade buried in her stomach sent liquid fire shooting from the impact point up to her brain.

"I'll count to three, and then I'll pull it out," Lotor said. His face was pale.

"Okay," Pidge said, her voice weak.

_Count to three._ Her mother used to do the same thing before ripping off Pidge's week-old band-aids. Right now, she was getting a knife pulled out of her stomach. They were two wildly different scenarios that made Pidge even dizzier.

"One…" Lotor seemed to be gearing himself up. He straightened up, tightening his grip on the knife. "Two…" he squared his shoulders. Pidge squeezed her eyes shut, holding her breath.

This was going to _hurt._

"Three!"

Lotor hardly hesitated before pulling. The knife came out with little resistance but was accompanied by a horrifying _slorp _sound that left the two of them feeling awfully squeamish. Blood splattered across the glass of Pidge's visor from the knife and on Lotor's cheek. Pidge screamed in agony.

She could now feel hot blood gushing from the wound. It seeped over her abdomen and down her sides. It was thick and horrifying, pooling around Pidge's body. She didn't look, already haunted enough from the idea of the dark, rich blood surrounding her.

Pulled from his momentary shock, Lotor ignored the blood splattered across his cheek and began unrolling his bandages. He wrapped them deftly around the wound, trying to keep them as tight as possible. Almost instantly, however, red began to seep through the wounds. Lotor couldn't wrap bandages fast enough to stop the flow. Before long, the roll was empty, leaving Pidge with blood-soaked wrappings.

Panicking, he pressed both hands to the wound. Pidge gurgled in pain, curling her tiny hands into fists where they lay splayed beside her. Her eyes were still tightly shut, agony wracking through her entire body. She half-wished Lotor had left the knife in. That pain was _much _more preferable to this one.

Tears stung her eyes as she sucked in a gasp, her eyes flying open. There was too much blood, she already knew. She was bleeding too much for it to be reversible.

"Paladins," Lotor spoke into the comm system Allura had given him before they'd left on the mission. His voice was surprisingly steady. "Pidge is down and _needs _medical attention. Are you there?"

There was a garbled response - Lance - and Lotor's face peeled into relief.

Pidge blinked at him, almost lazily. Her consciousness was fading, everything around her sounding echoey at best and staticy at worst. The pain from her wound faded into background noise.

The breathing was back.

One breath. Then another. Then three.

They were all so _loud._

"The others are on their way," Lotor's voice sounded far away. "You will be okay."

Pidge couldn't really figure out why he looked and sounded so scared. She couldn't figure out why Green's presence was practically thrashing in the back of her head. Everything didn't make sense.

Maybe they would...when she woke up.

She heard distant footsteps, distant voices. A circle of bright colors, of concerned faces, and then her eyes fell shut.

Pidge surrendered to the darkness.

* * *

**Don't worry, they got her to a pod in time. :D **

**Anyways, this was another prompt for my Bad Things Happen Bingo! This time for an anon who wanted some Lotor and Pidge, but I hope platonic works just as well. **

**I had a lot of fun writing this! I debated between doing this from Lotor's perspective or Pidge's, and ended up to stay with Pidge. Thought it'd be fun to write from the perspective of the person who got stabbed and see what I could do with this. I also listened to 'Ghost' by Jacob Lee on repeat while listening to this and it was...surprisingly helpful haha. **

**Anyways, I hope you enjoyed! **


End file.
